Bedtime Story
by TheValetAndTheMaid
Summary: Near the end of her pregnancy with their first child, Anna decides to read it a bedtime story and John comes to the realisation that he isn't the only one who loves the sound of his wife's voice. Disclaimer: I own nothing. Please leave me a review if you have the time, I would be so grateful to you :)


**Author's Note: I hope that you all love reading this little one-shot as much as I loved writing it!**

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'Not all that Mrs. Bennet, however, with the assistance of her five daughters, could ask on the subject, was sufficient to draw from her husband any satisfactory description of Mr Bingley.' Anna read aloud in a gentle voice whilst stroking her swollen belly. 'They attacked him in various ways – with barefaced questions, ingenious suppositions, and distant surmises; but he eluded the skill of them all, and they were at last obliged to accept the second-hand intelligence of their neighbour, Lady Lucas.' The sound of her husband chuckling at the end of the bed prompted her to stop reading and to glance over at him.

The two of them shared a smile when their eyes met and she watched him unbutton his shirt before he shrugged out of it. 'I thought that you were teasing when you said that you were going to start reading to the baby every evening,' He admitted whilst removing his undershirt, Anna shaking her head at him when he took his shirt from the end of the bed and walked to the chair at her vanity to drape it over the back of it. 'Is there much point in it though, my darling? I mean, I'm quite certain that the baby hasn't got a clue about what's going on.' He gave her a smirk as he started to make his way over to their bed.

'Whilst I agree that it's unlikely that our child is going to come out reciting the novel word-for-word...' She gave him a smirk of her own when he pulled back the covers and got into bed next to her. 'For the last couple of nights I've been able to feel it moving around and kicking whilst I read, so it must enjoy being read to.' Her eyes fell shut when John brought his hand to her face and stroked her cheek, a soft sigh of satisfaction escaping her when she felt his lips on hers just seconds later. The kiss he placed on her lips was warm and soft and her eyes delayed opening for a moment when he pulled back from her.

When their eyes met again he took his hand off of her cheek and placed it on the proof of their unborn child, his lips curling up into a smile when he lowered his gaze to his hand and gave her belly a stroke with his thumb. 'Go on then,' He gestured to the novel in her hand with his head. 'Keep reading to it.'

She gave him a good-natured roll of her eyes before making herself comfortable again and going back to her book. 'Her report was highly favourable. Sir William had been delighted with him. He was quite young, wonderfully handsome, extremely agreeable, and, to crown the whole, he meant to be at the next assembly with a large party.' She felt a kick as she read and she knew, by the hitch in John's breathing, that he'd felt it too. 'Nothing could be more delightful! To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love; and very lively hopes of Mr. Bingley's heart were entertained.' She turned to face him.

'You're right. The baby _does_ kick when you read,' He admitted. 'But I don't think it likes the reading.'

'You don't?' Her brow creased a little.

He shook his head. 'I think the baby moves and kicks because it knows that your voice belongs to you now. You're always talking and singing to it, sweetheart, sometimes without even noticing and I think the baby's associated your voice with you.' He watched her eyes brim with tears of happiness then, his heart swelling with love for her when she looked down at her stomach and ran her hand over the curve of it. 'You are going to make the best mother,' He whispered to her. 'Our child is going to adore you.'

She turned her head in his direction again after placing the novel on her stomach and laid her hand on his chest before pressing her lips to his. The smack of their lips echoed in the silence of the room once they had parted and she brushed her fingers against the hair on his chest after settling back down. 'The thing I'm looking forward to the most is being able to watch you sit and hold our baby. For as long as I can remember, I've dreamt of seeing that.' She sighed happily when he wrapped his arm around her.

'It won't be long now,' He kissed her temple. 'Just two more weeks.'

'I can't believe it.' She shook her head.

'Believe, my sweet one,' He replied. 'Believe.'

The two of them then shared one last smile before she picked up her _Pride and Prejudice _novel again. 'Shall I continue reading?' She inquired as she flicked back to the page that she had just been reading.

John drew her closer until her head found his chest and she snuggled against him. 'By all means.'

She turned her head to press a kiss to his collarbone before resting her hand over his own on her belly. '"If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield," said Mrs. Bennet to her husband, "and all the others equally well married, I shall have nothing to wish for"…'

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**Author's Note: Thank you all for reading this little one-shot! I would be so grateful if, if you have the time, you would leave me a review to let me know what you thought of it! The part of Pride and Prejudice that Anna was reading was one of the first paragraphs in chapter three of the novel and I found it on a website called . Once again, thank you all for reading and I'll see you all soon! :)**


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